Tag Archives: red line

After last week’s disaster, I still think it’s safe to ride the Red Line. But after another week or so riding to work and class , I have to say that I’m finding alternative transportation between home, work, and school; this blogger has fully embraced his blog’s namesake.

For starters, the Red Line itself has been predictably difficult. I’m glad Metro has taken appropriate steps to ensure our safety, but the Red Line in particular was subject to heavily dependent riders (like myself). Unlike some of the other lines in WMATA’s system, Red line trains seem particularly prone to the busy rush hour, probably because it has the fewest parallel track miles.

Usually this means that instead of riding the D2 bus to Dupont Circle metro stop, I take a D1 bus further to Metro Center, where I was usually transferring to a Blue or Orange line train. Metro is right to advise riders to build in extra time when taking the bus since they’re more packed than ever. Either way I’m loading on more time to my daily transit.

Of course good city transit is multi-modal; besides public transit and automobiles, DC is a great pedestrian town. Although I don’t have a bike, I have tried walking home from work when I can this summer. It’s only about 2 miles across a bridge between Roslyn and Glover Park, or a little less than an hour walking up Wisconsin Ave. Not to mention the fresh air and exercise.

So instead of complaining about the delays and track maintanance, I would encourage anyone to try a different mode of transit for themselves. Even if your commute wasn’t impacted, you don’t need any excuse to explore your transportation options.

For your viewing pleasure, here is the short video I made for the user-generated video contest sponsored by WMATA. In celebration of Car Free Day, I recorded my trip across DC on the MetroRail from Tenleytown/AU to Dupont Circle on the Red line.

And although I’m having trouble finding other riders who recorded their trip, I’ll be sure to post them in a follow-up once the contest winners are announced later this week. In the meantime, you might be interested in some of the findings from a recent survey of metro riders. Here’s a hint – area residents rely on the Metro system, and even if they don’t love it (and there are lots of reasons) more riders are leaving their cars at home everyday!